Former FGCU music conductor accused of sexually harassing students

Former FGCU faculty member Rod Chesnutt is suspected of sexually harassing five students when he worked at the university.
Thyrie Bland/The News-Press

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Former Florida Gulf Coast University Wind Ensemble conductor Rod Chesnutt is accused of sexually harassing students. Chesnutt stepped down from his job at FGCU in October.(Photo: Marc Beaudin/Special to the Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

A former Florida Gulf Coast University faculty member is suspected of sexually harassing five students when he worked at FGCU and of having an inappropriate relationship with another student, according to a 12-page investigative report.

The report resulted from an investigation into Rod Chesnutt's behavior while he was the Wind Orchestra conductor and head of instrumental studies at the Bower School of Music and The Arts. The investigation started in August after a student turned in a flash drive with evidence of harassment.

The five students who accused Chesnutt of harassment came forward after The News-Press reported in October that Chesnutt was under investigation and had resigned earlier that month. The students alleged Chesnutt made inappropriate comments about their appearance, the report states.

The flash drive that started the investigation contained pictures of women in bathing suits and in sexually suggestive poses. Some pictures were of one of Chesnutt's former students and contained captions, including "seductive," "cute" and "hot," according to the report.

FGCU's then-Provost Ron Toll asked to meet with Chesnutt after the flash drive was turned into his office. During the Aug. 28 meeting, Chesnutt admitted he had an inappropriate relationship with a student while the student was in his class, the report states.

This is not the first time Chesnutt has admitted to inappropriate behavior with a student. He testified during a 2001 deposition that he had sex with a student and kissed two others when he worked at the University of Nebraska, federal court records show.

Efforts to reach Chesnutt about the report were unsuccessful. Previous attempts to reach him by phone and email about the investigation and deposition also were futile.

"It's sad to realize that the Me Too movement is alive and well, even in my community," said Nora Demers, a 20-year FGCU faculty member. "It's sad, but it also feels good to know that the university created a safe space for the other students to come forward."

The movement is part of a national focus on sexual harassment. The past several months women have made allegations against some well-known men in an array of professions, including politics and entertainment, costing many their jobs.

"We have known that sexual harassment in the workplace directed against women has been a problem since the women's rights movement in the 70s," Demers said.

"Thankfully, our community and our society is not going to stand up for it anymore."

The investigation into Chesnutt has caused lots of talk on and off the FGCU campus.

FGCU alum Jamie Spagnola, 30, wrote The News-Press an email, expressing disappointment in Chesnutt. Spagnola, a 2010 graduate, was a music major.

"We worked extremely hard to build the Bower School of Music from scratch and create a world class music program, so it's extremely disappointing that Dr. Chesnutt's actions have tarnished our good name," she wrote.

'That fits your body well'

The News-Press obtained a copy of the investigative report through a public records request. FGCU heavily redacted the report, including removing all pronouns from it. The school cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the reason why.

FGCU's investigators concluded in the report it was more than likely Chesnutt harassed the students, and he more than likely violated FGCU's consensual relationship policy.

The policy prohibits romantic relationships between students and professors.

"The line is not fuzzy," FGCU President Mike Martin said. "People know. People may try to come with up with some rationalization that I was only trying to be a mentor etc, etc.

"But there is a very big difference between being a mentor and being a sexual harasser or violating a policy with respect even to consensual relationships. And if people don't know, they had ought to look for a job elsewhere because it's pretty obvious."

Chesnutt, 59, began working at FGCU as an associate professor in August 2006. Under his leadership in 2015, the FGCU Wind Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall.

The students who accused Chesnutt of harassment made a litany of allegations against him. The university said in the report that it tried to contact Chesnutt to give him a chance to respond to the students' accusations but was unable to reach him.

Florida Gulf Coast University released this picture of its Wind Orchestra before it performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2015. Rod Chesnutt, the orchestra's former conductor, is standing on the bottom row to the far right.(Photo: Special to the News-Press)

One student who came forward was leery of reporting Chesnutt in the past because Chesnutt "had a lot of power in the school and the music community." Another said he could "blackball" students' music careers, according to the FGCU investigative report.

The students alleged Chesnutt made comments about their dress that ranged from "that fits your body well" to "don't you look nice." It also was alleged he told a student that the student's clothing was so tight he couldn't focus on grading the student's assignment.

A student skipped a meeting with Chesnutt about a scholarship due to concerns there might be "strings attached," according to the report.

Another student described being asked by Chesnutt to go get dinner and drinks and to accompany him to his hotel room.

The student declined and said: "You are my professor. I am your student. It's a professional relationship, and I don't want anything else with you," the report states.

Responding to the investigation

Martin, the FGCU president, said as a result of the investigation, the school is going to step up efforts to make sure faculty and staff are aware of sexual harassment training.

"We most assuredly are going to continually re-emphasize that the kind of conduct exhibited by, in this case, former professor Chesnutt is unacceptable," he said.

"And the other message we are going to drive home is if you know about it, not telling is unacceptable."

Martin(Photo: Special to The News-Press)

The report includes a portion of an Oct. 17 email that Bill Larsen, a former adjunct at FGCU, wrote to Cathy Albergo, director of the Bower School of Music.

Larsen alleged Chesnutt "systematically victimized" his flute studio. He wrote he sent two female students and a male student to a dean to discuss what was happening.

"Indeed it took another 5 years and an apparent egregious act for the university to investigate," Larsen said in the email. "His actions of inappropriate conduct, intimidation, favoritism and grading were all known by the students."

Larsen believes his contract at FGCU wasn't renewed because of the action he took.

"It hurt me to be dismissed by a faculty member who crossed the line between being a professor and a predator," the email said.